São Paulo – Palestine 36 (2025) is the Arab representative at the film festival “Farol – Cinema Between Memory and the Present,” organized by CineSesc in São Paulo. A co-production of Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, and Denmark, the feature film by Annemarie Jacir presents a snapshot of the Palestinian struggle to defend its territory as early as the 1930s.
The first edition of the showcase, running from March 20 to April 2, presents a selection of films that bring together past and present through new or early works by filmmakers acclaimed by critics and audiences. The festival’s lineup includes feature films by David Cronenberg, Yorgos Lanthimos, and Paul Verhoeven, among others.
Palestine 36 revisits the struggle of Palestinian villages against British colonial rule. The story is told from the perspective of the young Yusuf and his dilemma between building a life away from conflict and the turmoil of Jerusalem. The film was screened at the Arab World Film Festival, organized by CineSesc and the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), and was among the contenders for this year’s Oscars, though it did not make the final list of nominees. The full program of the festival is available here.
Read more:
Publisher offers course on House of Wisdom
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
